March 21, 2008
Birmingham, Ala. - Patriot League champion American was within one point with six minutes to go against No. 5 Tennessee, but the Eagles were outscored, 22-8, down the stretch and fell to the Vols, 72-57, in East Region first-round action of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on Friday at the BJCC Arena.
The No. 15 seed Eagles had their season come to an end with a 21-12 record. They were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. No. 2 seed Tennessee improves to 30-4, and will play on Sunday against the winner of the contest between No. 10 South Alabama and No. 7 Butler.
"We're disappointed with the outcome, but I certainly couldn't be any more proud of the team, of a group of young men than I am of our guys," said American Head Coach Jeff Jones. "It wasn't pretty, but we scraped and I think we pushed Tennessee pretty hard for the most part of the game. I thought our guys stepped up to the challenge, but unfortunately we weren't quite up to it."
The Eagles led by as many as four points early in the first half, but went to the break down, 29-22. They were still down six early in the second half when Garrison Carr nailed back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score at 40 with 11:22 left. Tennessee came right back with a 10-0 run to pull ahead, 50-40, with 7:55 to go.
American did not give in, going on a 9-0 run that brought the Eagle fans and non-partisan supporters to their feet. The Eagles used a trio of three-pointers to make the surge, with a trey by Brian Gilmore sandwiched around a pair by Carr. The Eagles cut the gap to 50-49 on Carr's three with exactly six minutes to play.
Tennessee dashed American's upset bid in the final minutes. JaJuan Smith hit a three-pointer just 15 seconds after the Eagles closed to within one, and Wayne Chism built the Volunteer advantage to 57-51 on a trey with 4:19 to play. The Eagles were within 59-53 and had a pair of shots to cut the deficit with under three minutes to play, but could not convert. Tennessee hit 11-of-15 foul shots in the final 2:13 to seal the win.
"At the moment when we were making our run, I felt like the crowd was behind us, because when we made a basket to cut the lead it really exploded in the gym," said Carr. "And while we were making our run they just played like a two seed and a number one team in the nation and they made their runs right back and didn't let us get a lead."
The Eagles showed they would be able to play with the favored Volunteers right from the opening tip. American opened up an 11-7 lead less than four minutes into the contest, and never trailed by more than the seven-point deficit that it faced at the half.
Carr posted an outstanding individual effort for the Eagles. The First-Team All-League and Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player selection led all scorers with 26 points, connecting on 9-of-21 shots from the floor and 6-of-15 from three-point range while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Gilmore joined Carr in double figures with 13 points and also pulled in six rebounds. Derrick Mercer added nine points.
A substantial rebounding advantage helped American stay close. The Eagles held a 39-27 edge on the glass, and pulled in 18 offensive boards. Frank Borden recorded a game-high eight rebounds, while Cornelio Guibunda notched seven.
American also played strong defense on Tennessee star Chris Lofton. The Eagles held Lofton to a season-low five points, and kept him without a three-point field goal for just the third time this season.
American won the Patriot League regular-season and Tournament Championship, claiming their first League crown with a 52-46 win over Colgate in the Championship game on March 14. The Eagles had a 10-4 mark in the Patriot League regular season.
"I think it's been a great time," said Jones. "As I reflect back it's not just the last couple weeks though. I'm disappointed that we lost the game, but I'm more disappointed that the journey for this particular team is ending."
He added, "They have been a joy to coach and have worked so hard. And to see them as well as American University kind of get a moment in the sun, it's been a great time and a special time."
NCAA Tournament Game Notes
Carr, who shattered the Patriot League record for three-pointers in a season, finishes with 135 treys for the year. He is also among the top 15 in NCAA history for three-pointers in a single season.
Carr became the seventh American player to go over 600 points in a season, finishing with 606.
Gilmore registered a season and career-high with four steals in the contest.
It was just the third time this season that a Tennessee opponent outrebounded the Vols by 10 or more. It was the sixth time this season that the Eagles had a rebounding advantage of 10 or more.
